(The Center Square) – A week before Election Day, Tuesday is the last day for Ohio voters to request an absentee ballot.
It’s also the final days for early in-person voting ahead of the Nov. 5 general election, which will decide the president, a key U.S. Senate seat and several local school and other tax issues.
To request an absentee ballot, Ohio voters must fill out a mail ballot application and either return it by mail or in person to that voter’s local board of election office.
Absentee ballots must be postmarked or dropped off at a ballot drop-off location by Monday to be valid.
Voters voting early in-person or on Election Day must also present an approved voter ID, which includes an Ohio driver’s license, state ID card, interim ID issued by the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, U.S. passport, U.S. passport card, U.S. military ID card or a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs ID card.
Early in-person voting locations offer extended hours this week, with locations open from 7:30 a.m.-8:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Locations will be open from 7:30 a.m.-7:30 p.m. on Wednesday-Friday. Voting is also available from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. on Saturday and 1-5 p.m. on Sunday.
Through Monday, nearly 1.7 million votes had been cast in Ohio, either through absentee mail or early in-person voting. Early in-person voting nearly reached the 1 million mark with 941,956 votes cast.
Of the 1.14 million absentee mail ballots requested, 742,749 have been returned.
Republicans have already cast 515,267 votes, nearly 300,000 of which came from voters 65 years old and older. Democrats have cast 349,282 votes, with voters 65 and older also leading the way with 207,277 votes cast.
Franklin County, home to Columbus, has the most votes at 160,701, followed by Cuyahoga – home to Cleveland – has the next highest total at 151,306.